Happy birthday, Specky

She's getting grown up now

Feb 14, 2022

Happy birthday to me!

Specky Scribbler is 5 years old now.

It’s pretty surreal if you ask me. I can’t believe this thing that I decided to take a punt at has evolved so much. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m still a one-woman-band, but the projects I take on now are bigger than I ever could have imagined. Bigger than I can believe sometimes, if I’m honest.

So, I wanted to spend this newsletter talking about where I came from, where I am now, and the five most important lessons I learned along the way.

How it started

I became self-employed by accident. I had finished my M.Phil, worked full time as an archivist and researcher while applying for a PhD. In May 2016, my contract ended, and I dedicated my time to the PhD application (there’s so much involved in that).

While waiting to hear back about my potential doctorate, I started a short-term contract working for SpunOut.ie. Long story short, I didn’t get a place on the PhD programme, my contract with SpunOut ended and I had to find a job. But I never made it past the interview stage.

I needed money to - you know - live, so in Feb 2017 I signed up to a freelancing platform to build up a portfolio. In April I joined a co-working space and the connections I made there are, to this day, still hugely important to the business. I still get referrals and introductions from them, and they’re great friends who understand the stresses involved in self-employment.

Which leads nicely onto the next section about the 5 most important things I’ve learned in these past 5 years.

Five lessons for five years

#1 value your time

This is something that I took a while to realise. For a long time in the early days of my career, I didn’t value my time very much. I only valued my deliverables and my productivity.

I would bend and shake to fit in with clients’ meetings, with their timelines, their demands. I would reply to emails when they came in, no matter how late in the evening or on a Saturday. It meant I was constantly switched on, and putting myself under pressure to reply. It wasn’t healthy.

I no longer do that. If I’m working across timezones (which is rare), I outline my working hours in advance. I don’t work in the evenings and weekends when I can avoid it, and I have meetings during my least creative times. Value your time; work when it suits you, after all, you’re the boss now.

#2 don’t be afraid to say no

At the start of your freelancing career, and throughout it, during quieter periods, there’s the temptation to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes your way. There are a couple of problems with this.

The first is that everything you say ‘yes’ to could come to fruition, then you find yourself totally overwhelmed with work. Another problem is that you’re saying yes to something you’re not really into, and then you have to say no to something you really want.

The final thing is that, in my experience, saying yes to something that my gut is screaming no to often goes poorly. Saying yes when you’re somewhat scared is fine, it’s okay to push yourself. But when your gut is saying no, listen to it.

#3 be honest and communicate

I’ve written and spoken about communication extensively in my newsletter and my blog. And for good reason: communication and honesty are the foundation stones of every good relationship - professional and personal.

Decent clients will appreciate your honesty. They understand you’re the expert, and will ask for your honest opinion. Clients may not always act on your advice, but they’ll appreciate your honesty. But - and this is key - only if you’ve kept the lines of communication open throughout.

I’m a communicative and collaborative copywriter. I keep in touch with my clients throughout projects. I’ll often schedule check-in meetings once a week or every two weeks for longer projects. For shorter-term projects, if my client hasn’t heard from me in a week, I’ll email them an update. I keep lines of communication open, because everyone appreciates open communication.

#4 don’t be shy about money

I wrote about this in , but it’s a very crucial point. As a self-employed person, I literally cannot afford to be shy about money. If I don’t charge my worth and chase invoices, I do not get paid. It’s as simple as that.

At the end of the day, business is about money. And while I do work with charities and not for profits frequently, I’m still open about money. I ask clients about their budget, and if they avoid the question, I give them a ballpark to see how they react.

The reason freelancers often struggle to discuss money is because when you’re in full-time employment, you don’t really talk about it. Salaries and pay rates don’t come up and it’s rude to discuss it. But now, it’s on us. We need to stand our ground for our pay. Otherwise, we don’t get paid.

#5 remember your achievements

Being self-employed is hard work. Very hard work. We’re working with clients, running our houses, handling our admin and also looking for new opportunities constantly. It can become overwhelming.

Overwhelm is natural. It happens. We’re human. It can happen when we’re busy, and it can also happen when we’re not. For me, this is where the achievements log comes in. It’s like a portfolio, but only for me.

The biggest achievement of all is the fact that we’re working for ourselves. Everything we’ve done we’ve done ourselves. We’ve found projects, built networks, and have used this to pay ourselves and our bills. That’s an amazing achievement. We need to remember it more.

How it’s going

After a quiet start to the year, I’ve been working a solid 5 days a week since 10 January. Sometimes more than 5 days, if I’m being honest. I’ve been working with an agency on a huge branding project, and tidying up some projects from 2021.

I’m booked until March, but who knows what will come after that. All I know is that I’ll have a new animated video to show soon. It’s currently being made.

This year, I’m hoping to do more of what I love: tone of voice creation and video scripts. I also want to get back into writing my book, posting blogs on my website, and generally writerly pursuits.

Non-work stuff

I ran a 10km race last week.

On Saturday 5th February, on honestly the worst weather day of the year, I set off on a 10km race around the base of Arthur’s Seat.

The wind was gusting 25mph against us on the uphill, it was lashing rain and the temperature was a ‘real feel’ of -4C. It was so horrific, it was kind of hilarious.

I finished the race, 3 minutes slower than I wanted to. But I also wanted to quit at the second kilometre, so I’ll take the three minutes. It’s also kind of representative of how self-employment goes. Feast or famine. Amazing highs and gut-wrenching lows. But we’re here still, through grit and determination.

That was all very on the nose, and for that I apologise. But look, the opportunity was there for a literal comparison, so I took it.

I guess the moral of the story is: self-employment is a hard slog, but with proper processes in place, and a whole heap of stubbornness, you can make it. You just have to commit. Especially when you want to quit.